The Wild Blue Yonder

Steve rocking his blues.

This is my man--in uniform. Doesn't he look sharp?

Two Fridays ago at midnight I got all dressed up--good makeup, heels, the works--and drove to the Greensboro to pick him up. I don't think I've ever understood the phrase "sight for sore eyes" until I saw him walking through the glass doors at the airport--heels be darned, I ran across the parking lot to him--and gave him a really really really good hug. And a kiss. Of course. But I could have hugged him forever. And it was pretty fun to stand next to him in his shiny shoes and nicely pressed blues while we waited for his bags to arrive. :)

He spent a month--from the end of May until a few days before my birthday in June--in Montgomery, Alabama at the Maxwell Air Force base, where he was fulfilling his required Commissioned Officer Training (COT) for his military scholarship. While Gracie and I were traveling, staying with friends and family, and trying to stay busy enough to get through a month without him, he was doing crazy rope courses, eating all his meals in 8 to 10 minutes (and they were huuuuge meals), and spending hour after hour in lecture learning about how to be an airman (they're not soldiers in the Air Force, FYI).

Dangling awesomely in his ABU's (ABU=Airman Battle Uniform, its Air Force for camo)

Their class of about 300 was broken down into three Squadrons (of 100) and then into smaller groups called Flights (15 people each), and he was Quebec Flight. They were the people he worked, played, ate, and lived with 24/7 for over four weeks, and they made a huge impact on his experience there. I am really thankful that he had a good, fun group that focused on keeping each other's spirits up and learning to work well as a team. He loves his Q's, and I love them for taking care of him.

I missed him like crazy, but I was really impressed by how well he did and how hard he worked out there on his own. He buckled down and really tried to learn everything he could and be a good example of a USAF officer. I am so proud of his dedication and motivation to do this up right when he could have gotten by with less work and effort. It has made me really feel like we are an Air Force family, and I'm proud to be able to participate in any small way in honoring our country and helping others protect our freedom.

AND, his flight did really well--they pretty much continually won the honor ownership of the coveted chalice (see below) for being top performers among their class and squadron.

Quebec Flight showing off their prize.

And p.s. did you know that Into the Wild Blue Yonder is the official Air Force song? If you check out the lyrics, you'll definitely pick it up.